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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

IRVINE 


Gift  of 
THE  HONNOLD  LIBRARY 


ELEGY 

Written  in  a 
QmntryCharchyard 


Thomtts 
Gr&y  — 


^M.CuJdwen  Co. 
New  York-"^  Boston. 


C9t 


Copyright,  igoi 
By  H.  M.  CaIvDwelIv  Co. 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems 


Introduction 

n^HOMAS  GRAY  was  born  in 
Cornhill,  London,  December 
26,  17 16.  Philip  Gray,  the  poet's 
father,  a  broker  and  scrivener,  was  a 
man  of  ungovernable  temper,  whose 
cruelty  to  his  gentle  wife  became  so 
unendurable  as  to  lead  to  a  separation. 
Dorothy  Gray,  on  the  other  hand, 
possessed  a  beautiful  character,  and 
it  is  to  her  love  and  industry  that 
Thomas  owed  his  education.  Mrs. 
Gray  met  the  expenses  of  her  son  at 
Eton  College  by  keeping,  together 
with  her  sister,  a  millinery  shop  in 
London.  The  poet  rewarded  her  by 
the  m;ost  lively  gratitude  and  by  devot- 


^  Introduction 

ing  himself  very  assiduously  to  his 
studies.  From  Eton  young  Gray 
went  to  Cambridge,  being  admitted  as 
a  pensioner  at  Peter-House  in  his 
nineteenth  year.  After  four  years' 
residence,  the  poet  left  the  university 
in  the  company  of  Horace  Walpole, 
whose  acquaintance  he  had  formed 
while  there,  and  made  an  extended 
tour  of  the  Continent,  returning  to 
England  in  1741.  Shortly  afterward 
Gray  took  up  his  residence  again  in 
Cambridge,  which  he  made  his  home, 
with  the  exception  of  two  brief  inter- 
vals, throughout  the  rest  of  his  life. 
The  events  that  follow  in  the  biog- 
raphy of  the  poet  are  the  quiet  happen- 
ings in  the  life  of  a  scholar  and  man 
of  letters  :  the  writing  of  a  poem,  the 
publication   of  a   book,  the    forr^ation 


Introduction  ^ 

of  a  literary  friendship,  —  such  are  the 
typical  landmarks  in  these  tranquil 
years. 

In  1742  Gray  wrote  his  "Ode  to 
Spring,"  "  Ode  on  Eton  College,"  and 
"  Hymns  to  Adversity,"  and  began 
the  "  Elegy  in  a  Country  Church- 
yard," though  the  latter  was  not  pub- 
lished until  1751.  In  1753  his 
mother  died.  Two  years  later  the 
"  Progress  of  Poesy "  and  "  The 
Bard "  were  published,  and  added  to 
the  already  great  reputation  won  for 
the  poet  by  the  "  Elegy." 

In  1762  Gray  declined  the  laureate- 
ship,  saying  shrewdly  regarding  the 
matter  in  a  personal  letter :  "  For 
my  part,  I  would  rather  be  sergeant- 
trumpeter  or  pinmaker  to  the  palace; 
nevertheless,  I  interest  myself  a  little 


•^  Introduction 

in  the  history  of  it,  and  rather  wish 
somebody  may  accept  it  that  will  re- 
trieve the  credit  of  the  thing,  if  it  be 
retrievable,  or  ever  had  any  credit. 
.  .  .  The  office  itself  has  always  hum- 
bled the  professor  hitherto  (even  in  an 
age  when  kings  were  somebody),  if  he 
were  a  poor  writer  by  making  him 
more  conspicuous,  and  if  he  were  a 
good  one  by  setting  him  at  war  with 
the  little  fry  of  his  own  profession  ; 
for  there  are  poets  little  enough  to 
envy  even  a  poet  laureate." 

A  tour  of  Scotland  in  1765  occa- 
sioned many  interesting  descriptive 
letters,  which  have  been,  fortunately, 
preserved.  In  1768  Gray,  then  fifty- 
two  years  of  age,  was  appointed  pro- 
fessor of  modern  history  at  Cam- 
bridge.     His    health,    however,    never 


Introduction  ^ 

robust,  was  now  much  broken,  and  he 
never  delivered  any  lectures.  He  died 
on  the  30th  of  July,  1771,  and  was 
buried  beside  his  mother  at  Stoke 
Pogis. 

Gray  was  always  more  or  less  of  a 
recluse,  and  frequently  the  victim  of 
low  spirits.  He  never  married.  In 
disposition  he  was  kind,  but  very  re- 
served J  in  manners  fastidious  almost 
to  effeminacy.  His  moral  character 
was  irreproachable  ;  his  erudition  sur- 
passes that  of  any  eminent  English 
poet,  with  one  or  two  possible  excep- 
tions. His  poetry  is  marked  by  re- 
straint, elegance,  and  precision,  and  is 
pervaded  by  a  spirit  of  gentle  contem- 
plation. 

Popular  opinion  agrees  with  the  ver- 
dict of  the  critics  in  pronouncing  the 


^  Introduction 

"  Elegy  "  to  be  the  poet's  masterpiece. 
Lord  Byron  wrote  regarding  it :  "  Had 
Gray  written  nothing  but  his  '  Elegy,' 
high  as  he  stands,  I  am  not  sure  that 
he  would  not  stand  higher;  it  is  the 
corner-stone  of  his  glory.  .  .  .  Gray's 
'  Elegy '  pleased  instantly  and  eter- 
nally/^ 


ru 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems 


ELEGY     WRITTEN     IN     A 
COUNTRY   CHURCHYARD 

The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting 
day, 
The  lowing  herd  winds  slowly  o'er 
the  lea, 
The   ploughman   homeward   plods    his 
weary  way. 
And  leaves   the   world    to   darkness 
and  to  me. 

Now    fades    the  glimmering  landscape 

on  the  sight, 
1*     And   all   the   air   a  solemn    stillness 
holds, 

I 


^  Elegy  and  Other   Poems 

Save  where  the  beetle  wheels  his  dron- 
ing flight, 
And  drowsy  tinklings  lull  the  distant 
folds : 

Save    that    from    yonder    ivy-mantled 
tower, 
The  moping  owl  does  to  the  moon 
complain 
Of  such  as,  wand'ring  near  her  secret 
bower, 
Molest  her  ancient  solitary  reign. 

Beneath  those  rugged  elms,  that  yew- 
tree's  shade, 
Where    heaves    the  turf  in   many   a 
mould'ring  heap, 
Each  in  his  narrow  cell  for  ever  laid, 
The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet^ 
sleep. 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

The   breezy   call   of  incense-breathing 
morn, 
The    swallow    twitt'ring    from    the 
straw-built  shed, 
The  cock's  shrill  clarion,  or  the  echo- 
ing horn. 
No    more    shall    rouse    them    from 
their  lowly  bed. 

For  them  no  more  the  blazing  hearth 
shall  burn, 
Or  busy  housewife  ply  her  evening 
care ; 
No  children  run  to  lisp  their  sire's  return, 
Or  climb  his  knees  the  envied  kiss 
to  share. 

Oft    did    the    harvest    to    their    sickle 
yield, 
Their  furrow  oft  the  stubborn  glebe 
has  broke  : 

3 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

How  jocund  did  they  drive  their  team 
afield  ! 
How  bow'd  the  woods  beneath  their 
sturdy  stroke  ! 

Let   not   ambition    mock   their    useful 
toil, 
Their     homely    joys,    and     destiny 
obscure ; 
Nor   grandeur   hear   with    a   disdainful 
smile 
The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the 
poor. 

The  boast  of  heraldry,  the   pomp   of 
pow'r^ 
And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth 
e'er  gave, 
Await  alike  th'  inevitable  hour. 

The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the 
grave. 

4 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

Nor  you,   ye   proud,   impute   to   these 
the  fault, 
If    memory     o'er     their    tomb     no 
trophies  raise. 
Where  thro'  the  long-drawn  aisle  and 
fretted  vault 
The  pealing  anthem  swells  the  note 
of  praise. 

Can  storied  urn,  or  animated  bust. 
Back  to  its  mansion  call  the  fleeting 
breath  ? 
Can  honour's  voice  provoke  the  silent 
dust. 
Or  flatt'ry  soothe  the  dull  cold  ear 
of  death  ? 

Perhaps  in  this  neglected  spot  is  laid 
Some  heart  once  pregnant  with  celes- 
tial fire  -, 

5 


-^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Hands,  that  the  rod  of  empire  might 
have  sway'd, 
Or  waked  to  ecstasy  the  living  lyre  : 

But     Knowledge    to    their    eyes    her 
ample  page 
Rich    with    the    spoils   of   time    did 
ne'er  unroll ; 
Chill     penury     repress'd     their    noble 
rage, 
And  froze  the  genial  current  of  the 
soul. 

Full  many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene 
The  dark  unfathom'd  caves  of  ocean 
bear : 
Full  many  a   flower  is  born  to   blush 
unseen. 
And    waste    its    sweetness    on    the 
desert  air. 

6 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

Some    village     Hampden,     that,     with 
dauntless  breast. 
The  little  tyrant  of  his  fields  with- 
stood. 
Some  mute  inglorious  Milton,  here  may 
rest. 
Some     Cromwell     guiltless     of    his 
country's  blood. 

Th'    applause  of   list'ning    senates    to 
command. 
The   threats    of   pain    and    ruin    to 
despise, 
To  scatter  plenty  o'er  a  smiling  land. 
And  read  their  history  in  a  nation's 
eyes, 

Their  lot  forbade  :   nor  circumscribed 
alone 
Their    growing    virtues,    but     their 
crimes  confined ; 
7 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Forbade  to  wade  through  slaughter  to  a 
throne, 
And    shut   the   gates    of   mercy    on 
mankind, 

The  struggling  pangs  of  conscious  truth 
to  hide, 
To  quench  the  blushes  of  ingenuous 
shame, 
Or  heap  the  shrine  of  luxury  and  pride 
With  incense  kindled  at  the  Muse's 
flame. 

Far  from  the  madding  crowd's  ignoble 
strife. 
Their  sober  wishes  never  learn'd  to 
stray  •, 
Along  the  cool  sequester'd  vale  of  life 
They    kept    the    noiseless   tenor    of 
their  way. 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 


Yet   ev'n    these  bones   from   insult   to 
protect, 
Some    frail    memorial    still    erected 
nigh, 
With   uncouth    rhymes   and    shapeless 
sculpture  deck'd. 
Implores   the    passing    tribute    of  a 
sigh. 

Their  name,  their  years,  spelt  by  th' 

unletter'd  Muse, 

The  place  of  fame  and  elegy  supply : 

And     many    a    holy    text    around    she 

strews, 

That  teach  the^rustic  moralist  to  die. 

For    who,    to    dumb    forgetfulness    a 
prey. 
This     pleasing    anxious    being    e'er 
resign'd, 

9 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Left  the  warm  precincts  of  the  cheer- 
ful day, 
Nor  cast  one  longing  ling'ring  look 
behind  ? 

On  some  fond  breast  the  parting  soul 
relies, 
Some   pious    drops   the  closing   eye 
requires ; 
E'en  from  the  tomb  the  voice  of  nature 
cries. 
E'en  in  our  ashes  live  their  wonted 
fires. 

For    thee,    who,    mindful    of    th'    un- 
honour'd  dead,  * 
Dost  in  these  lines  their  artless  tale 
relate  ; 
If  chance,  by  lonely  contemplation  led, 
Some  kindred  spirit  shall  inquire  thy 
fate, — 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

Haply  some   hoary-headed   swain  may 

say, 
"  Oft  have  we  seen  him  at  the  peep 

of  dawn 
Brushing  with  hasty  step  the  dews  away, 
To  meet  the   sun  upon   the  upland 
lawn  : 

"  There  at  the  foot  of  yonder  nodding 
beech, 
That  wreathes  its  old  fantastic  roots 
so  high. 
His   listless  length   at  noontide  would 
he  stretch. 
And  pore  upon  the  brook  that  bab- 
bles by. 

"  Hard  by  yon  wood,  now  smiling  as 
in  scorn, 
Mutt'ring    his    wayward   fancies   he 
would  rove ; 

II 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Now    drooping,    woful-wan,   like    one 
forlorn, 
Or  crazed  with  care,  or  cross'd  in 
hopeless  love. 

"  One    morn    I    miss'd    him    on    the 
'customed  hill. 
Along  the  heath,  and  near  his  fav'rite 
tree; 
Another  came ;   nor  yet  beside  the  rill. 
Nor  up  the  lawn,  nor  at  the  wood 
was  he : 

"  The  next,  with  dirges  due  In  sad  array. 
Slow  through  the   church-way   path 
we  saw  him  borne  :  — 
Approach    and    read    (for    thou    canst 
read)  the  lay 
Graved   on    the   stone  beneath   yon 
aged  thorn." 


Elegy  and  Other    Poems  ^ 

THE    EPITAPH 

Here  rests   his  head    upon  the   lap   of 
earth, 
A    youth,    to    fortune    and    to    fame 
unknown  : 
Fair  Science  frown'd  not  on  his  humble 
birth. 
And  Melancholy  mark'd  him  for  her 
own. 

Large   was   his   bounty,   and    his    soul 
sincere. 
Heaven  did  a  recompense  as  largely 
send  ; 
He  gave  to  mis'ry  (all  he  had)  a  tear, 
He  gain'd  from  heav'n  ('twas  all  he 
wish'd)  a  friend. 

No  farther  seek  his  merits  to  disclose. 
Or  draw  his  frailties  from  their  dread 
•'    abode, 

13 


^  Elegy  and   Other   Poems 

(Theie    they  ahke    in   trembHng    hope 
repose,) 
The  bosom   of  his    Father   and  his 
God. 


M 


Elegy  and  Other   Poems  ^ 


ON   THE   SPRING 

Lo  !   where  the  rosy-bosom'd  Hours, 

Fair  Venus'  train,  appear, 
Disclose  the  long-expecting  flowers. 

And  wake  the  purple  year  ! 
The  Attic  warbler  pours  her  throat. 
Responsive  to  the  cuckoo's  note, 

The  untaught  harmony  of  spring  : 
While,    whisp'ring     pleasure    as    they 

fly, 

Cool   Zephyrs  through  the   clear  blue 
sky 
Their  gather'd  fragrance  fling. 

Where'er    the    oak's    thick    branches 
stretch 
A  broader  browner  shade, 
15 


-^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Where'er    the    rude    and    moss-grown 
beech 

O'er-canopies  the  glade, 
Beside  some  water's  rushy  brink 
With    me    the    Muse    shall    sit,    and 
think 

(At  ease  reclined  in  rustic  state) 
How  vain  the  ardour  of  the  crowd, 
How  low,  how  little  are  the  proud, 

How  indigent  the  great ! 

Still  is  the  toiling  hand  of  Care ; 

The  panting  herds  repose  : 
Yet,  hark,   how   through   the   peopled 
air 

The  busy  murmur  glows  ! 
The  insect-youth  are  on  the  wing. 
Eager  to  taste  the  honeyed  spring. 

And  float  amid  the  liquid  noon  : 
Some  lightly  o'er  the  current  skim, 
i6 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ?# 

Some  show  their  gaily-gilded  trim 
Quick-glancing  to  the  sun. 

To  Contemplation's  sober  eye 

Such  is  the  race  of  Man  : 
And  they  that  creep,  and  they  that  fly, 

Shall  end  where  they  began. 
Alike  the  Busy  and  the  Gay 
But  flutter  through  life's  little  day, 

In  Fortune's  varying  colours  drest : 
Brush'd    by    the   hand   of  rough    Mis- 
chance, 
Or  chill'd  by  Age,  their  airy  dance 

They  leave,  in  dust  to  rest. 

Methinks  I  hear,  in  accents  low, 

The  sportive  kind  reply  : 
Poor  moralist !   and  what  art  thou  ? 

A  solitary  fly  ! 
Thy  joys  no  glittering  female  meets, 
17 


^  Elegv  and  Other  Poems 

No  hive  hast  thou  of  hoarded  sweets. 
No  painted  plumage  to  display  : 

On  hastv  wings  thy  vouth  is  flown ; 

Thv  sun  is  set,  thy  spring  is  gone  — 
We  frolic  while  'tis  May. 


i8 


Elegy  and   Other  Poems  ^ 


ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A 
FAVOURITE  CAT 

DROWNED    IN    A    TUB    OF     GOLDFISHES 

'TwAS  on  a  lofty  vase's  side, 
Where  China's  gayest  art  had  dyed 

The  azure  flowers,  that  blow ; 
Demurest  of  the  tabby  kind, 
The  pensive  Selima,  reclined. 

Gazed  on  the  lake  below. 

Her  conscious  tail  her  joy  declared  ; 
The  fair  round  face,  the  snowy  beard. 

The  velvet  of  her  paws, 
Her  coat,  that  with  the  tortoise  vies. 
Her  ears  of  jet,  and  emerald  eyes, 

She  saw ;  and  purr'd  applause. 
19 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Still   had    she   gazed ;    but   'midst    the 

tide 
Two  angel  forms  were  seen  to  glide, 

The  Genii  of  the  stream  : 
Their  scaly  armour's  Tyrian  hue 
Through  richest  purple  to  the  view 

Betray'd  a  golden  gleam. 

The  hapless  nymph  with  wonder  saw  : 
A  whisker  first,  and  then  a  claw. 

With  many  an  ardent  wish, 
She    stretch'd,   in    vain,   to    reach    the 

prize. 
What  female  heart  can  gold  despise  ? 

What  Cat's  averse  to  fish  ? 

Presumptuous    maid !    with    looks    in- 
tent 
Again  she  stretch'd,  again  she  bent, 
Nor  knew  the  gulf  between. 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems 


^ 
f^x 


(Malignant  Fate  sat  by,  and  smiled) 
The  slipp'ry  verge  her  feet  beguiled, 
She  tumbled  headlong  in. 

Eight  times  emerging  from  the  flood, 
She  mew'd  to  ev'ry  wat'ry  God, 

Some  speedy  aid  to  send. 
No  Dolphin  came,  no  Nereid  stirred  : 
Nor  cruel  Tom,  nor  Susan  heard. 

A  fav'rite  has  no  friend  ! 

From  hence,  ye  beauties,  undeceived. 
Know,  one  false  step  is  ne'er  retrieved, 

x\nd  be  with  caution  bold. 
Not   all   that   tempts    your   wandering 

eyes 
And  heedless  hearts  is  lawful  prize, 

Nor  all,  that  glisters,  gold. 


21 


-^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 


ON    A    DISTANT    PROSPECT 
OF  ETON  COLLEGE 

AvdpojTTOs.  iKavTj  irpocpaais  els  rb  Sfcrri^xer;'. 
Menander,  Incert.  Fragm.  ver.  382.  ed.  Cler.  p.  245. 

Ye  distant  spires,  ye  antique  towers, 

That  crown  the  wat'ry  glade. 
Where  grateful  Science  still  adores 

Her  Henty's  holy  shade; 
And  ye,  that  from  the  stately  brow 
Of    Windsor's     heights     th'     expanse 
below 
Of  grove,   of   lawn,   of  meaa   sur- 
vey, 
Whose  turf,  whose  shade,  whose  flow- 
ers among 
Wanders  the  hoary  Thames  along 
His  silver-winding  way  : 
22 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

Ah,  happy  hills  !  ah,  pleasing  shade  ! 

Ah,  fields  beloved  in  vain  ! 
Where    once    my   careless    childhood 
stray'd 

A  stranger  yet  to  pain  ! 
I  feel  the  gales  that  from  ye  blow 
A  momentary  bliss  bestow. 

As    waving     fresh    their    gladsome 
wing. 
My  weary  soul  they  seem  to  soothe, 
And,  redolent  of  joy  and  youth. 

To  breathe  a  second  spring. 

Say,  father  Thames,  for  thou  hast  seen 

Full  many  a  sprightly  race 
Disporting  on  thy  margent  green, 

The  paths  of  pleasure  trace ; 
Who  foremost  now  delight  to  cleave, 
With  pliant  arm,  thy  glassy  wave  ? 

The  captive  linnet  which  enthral  ? 
23 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

What  idle  progeny  succeed 
To  chase  the  rolling  circle's  speed. 
Or  urge  the  flying  ball  ? 

While  some  on  earnest  business  bent 

Their  murmuring  labours  ply 
'Gainst  graver  hours   that   bring  con- 
straint 

To  sweeten  liberty : 
Some  bold  adventurers  disdain 
The  limits  of  their  little  reign, 

And  unknown  regions  dare  descry  : 
Still  as  they  run  they  look  behind, 
They  hear  a  voice  in  every  wind, 

And  snatch  a  fearful  joy. 

Gay  hope  is  theirs  by  fancy  fed, 
Less  pleasing  when  possest ; 

The  tear  forgot  as  soon  as  shed. 
The  sunshine  of  the  breast : 
24 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

Theirs  buxom  health,  of  rosy  hue, 
Wild  wit,  invention  ever  new. 

And  lively  cheer,  of  vigour  born  ; 
The  thoughtless  day,  the  easy  night. 
The  spirits  pure,  the  slumbers  light. 

That  fly  th'  approach  of  morn. 

Alas  !   regardless  of  their  doom, 

The  little  victims  play ; 
No  sense  have  they  of  ills  to  come, 

Nor  care  beyond  to-day  : 
Yet  see,  how  all  around  'em  wait 
The  ministers  of  human  fate. 

And     black     Misfortune's     baleful 
train  ! 
Ah,    show    them    where     in    ambush 

stand. 
To    seize   their    prey,   the    murth'rous 
band  ! 
Ah,  tell  them,  they  are  men  ! 
25 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

These  shall  the  fury  Passions  tear, 

The  vultures  of  the  mind, 
Disdainful  Anger,  pallid  Fear, 

And  Shame  that  skulks  behind  ; 
Or  pining  Love  shall  waste  their  youth. 
Or  Jealousy,  with  rankling  tooth. 

That  inly  gnaws  the  secret  heart ; 
And  Envy  wan,  and  faded  Care, 
Grim-visaged  comfortless  Despair, 

And  Sorrow's  piercing  dart. 

Ambition  this  shall  tempt  to  rise, 

Then  whirl  the  wretch  from  high, 
To  bitter  Scorn  a  sacrifice. 

And  grinning  Infamy. 
The   stings   of  Falsehood   those    shall 

try, 
And  hard  Unkindness'  alter'd  eye. 
That    mocks   the   tear   it    forced   to 
flow; 

26 


>tlegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

And  keen  Remorse  with  blood  defiled, 
And  moody  Madness  laughing  wild 
Amid  severest  woe. 

Lo  I   in  the  vale  of  years  beneath 

A  grisly  troop  are  seen, 
The  painful  family  of  Death, 

More  hideous  than  their  queen  : 
This    racks    the  joints,   this   fires   the 

veins. 
That  every  labouring  sinew  strains. 

Those  in  the  deeper  vitals  rage : 
Lo  !   Poverty,  to  fill  the  band. 
That  numbs  the  soul  with  icy  hand. 

And  slow-consuming  Age. 

To  each  his  sufF'rings  :  all  are  men, 
Condemned  alike  to  groan  ; 

The  tender  for  another's  pain, 
Th'  unfeeling  for  his  own. 

27 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Yet,  ah  !   why  should  they  know  their 

fate, 
Since  sorrow  never  comes  too  late. 

And  happiness  too  swiftly  flies  ? 
Thought  would  destroy  their  paradise. 
No  more  ;  —  where  ignorance  is  bliss, 

'Tis  folly  to  be  wise. 


28 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems 


?^ 


HYMN  TO  ADVERSITY 

—  Zijva  — 


Tbv  <f>pov€Lv  B/ioroi>s  odd)- 
aavra.  tw  irddei  fxaduv 
QivTo.  Kvplus  exeti'- 

/Esch.  Agam.  ver.  181. 

Daughter  of  Jove,  relentless  power, 

Thou  tamer  of  the  human  breast, 
Whose  iron  scourge  and  tort'ring  hour 

The  bad  affright,  afflict  the  best ! 
Bound  in  thy  adamantine  chain. 
The  proud  are  taught  to  taste  of  pain, 
And  purple  tyrants  vainly  groan 
With  pangs  unfelt  before,  unpitied  and 
alone. 

When  first  thy  sire  to  send  on  earth 
Virtue,  his  darling  child,  designed, 
29 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

To  thee  he  gave  the  heav'nly  birth, 

And  bade  to  form  her  infant  mind. 
Stern  rugged  nurse  !  thy  rigid  lore 
With  patience  many  a  year  she  bore  : 
What    sorrow    was,    thou    bad'st    her 

know. 
And  from  her  own  she  learn'd  to  meh 

at  others'  woe. 

Scared  at  thy  frown  terrific,  fly 

Self-pleasing  Folly's  idle  brood, 
Wild  Laughter,  Noise,  and  thoughtless 

Joy. 

And  leave  us  leisure  to  be  good. 
Light    they    disperse,   and    with    them 

go 
The  summer  friend,  the  flatt'ring  foe ; 

By  vain  Prosperity  received. 

To  her  they  vow  their  truth,  and  are 

again  believed. 

30 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

Wisdom  in  sable  garb  array'd, 

Immersed  in  rapt'rous  thought  pro- 
found, 
And  Melancholy,  silent  maid, 

With    leaden    eye    that    loves    the 
ground. 
Still  on  thy  solemn  steps  attend  : 
Warm  Charity,  the  gen'ral  friend. 
With  Justice,  to  herself  severe. 
And  Pity,  dropping  soft  the  sadly  pleas- 
ing tear. 

O,  gently  on  thy  suppliant's  head, 
Dread   goddess,   lay    thy    chast'ning 
hand  ! 
Not  in  thy  Gorgon  terrors  clad. 

Not  circled  with  the  vengeful  band 
(As  by  the  impious  thou  art  seen) 
With  thund'ring  voice,  and  threat'ning 
mien, 

31 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

With   screaming   Horror's   fun'ral   cry, 
Despair,  and  fell  Disease,  and  ghastly 
Poverty  : 

Thy  form  benign,  O  goddess,  wear, 

Thy  milder  influence  impart. 
Thy  philosophic  train  be  there 

To  soften,  not  to  wound,  my  heart. 
The  gen'rous  spark  extinct  revive, 
Teach  me  to  love  and  to  forgive. 
Exact  my  own  defects  to  scan, 
What    others    are    to    feel    and    know 
myself  a  Man. 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 
THE  PROGRESS  OF  POESY 

A    PINDARIC    ODE  * 

^cjvdvTa  avv€ToT(TLv  '  is 
A^  TO  irdv  ep/J.rjv^ojv 
Xarl^ei. 

Pindar.  Ol.  II.  v.  152. 

I.     I. 

Awake,  /Eolian  lyre,  awake. 
And  give  to  rapture  all  thy  trembling 

strings. 
From  Helicon's  harmonious  springs 
A  thousand  rills  their  mazy  progress 
take  : 
The  laughing  flowers,  that  round  them 
blow, 

*  Finished  in    1754.     Printed  together   with 
"The  Bard,  an  Ode,"  August  8,  1757.  — MS. 

33 


^  Elegy  and  Other   Poems 

Drink  life  and  fragrance  as  they  flow. 
Now  the  rich  stream  of  music  winds 

along, 
Deep,  majestic,  smooth,  and  strong. 
Thro'  verdant  vales,  and  Ceres'  golden 

reign. 
Now  rolling  down  the  steep  amain. 
Headlong,  impetuous,  see  it  pour ; 
The  rocks  and  nodding  groves  rebellow 

to  the  roar. 

I.    2. 

O  Sov'reign  of  the  willing  soul. 
Parent  of  sweet  and  solemn-breathing 

airs. 
Enchanting  shell  !  the  sullen  Cares 
And   frantic   Passions  hear  thy  soft 
control. 
On  Thracia's  hills  the  Lord  of  War 
Has  curb'd  the  fury  of  his  car, 
34 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

And    dropt    his    thirsty    lance    at    thy 

command. 
Perching  on  the  sceptred  hand 
Of  Jove,  thy  magic  lulls  the  featherM 

king 
With  ruffled  plumes  and  flagging  wing  : 
Quench'd    in   dark  clouds   of   slumber 

lie 
The  terrors  of  his  beak,  and  lightnings 

of  his  eye. 

I-  3- 

Thee  the  voice,  the  dance,  obey, 
Temper'd  to  thy  warbled  lay. 
O'er  Idalia's  velvet-green 
The  rosy-crowned  Loves  are  seen 
On  Cytherea's  day ; 
With  antic  Sport,  and  blue-eyed  Pleas- 
ures, 
Frisking  light  in  frolic  measures  ; 
35 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 


Now  pursuing,  now  retreating, 

Now  in  circling  troops  they  meet  : 
To  brisk  notes  in  cadence  beating, 

Glance  their  many-twinkling  feet. 
Slow    melting    strains    their    Queen's 
approach  declare  : 
Where'er     she    turns,     the     Graces 
homage  pay. 
With  arms  sublime,  that  float  upon  the 
air, 
In  gliding   state   she   wins   her   easy 
way  : 
O'er  her  warm  cheek,  and  rising  bosom, 

move 
The  bloom  of  young  Desire  and  purple 
light  of  Love. 

II.    I. 

Man's  feeble  race  what  ills  await ! 

Labour,  and  Penury,  the  racks  of  Pain, 

36 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

Disease,  and  Sorrow's  weeping  train, 
And    Death,    sad    refuge    from    the 
storms  of  fate  ! 

The    fond    complaint,  my    song,  dis- 
prove. 

And  justify  the  laws  of  Jove. 

Say,  has  he  giv'n  in  vain  the  heav'nly 
Muse  ? 

Night  and  all  her  sickly  dews, 

Her  spectres  wan,  and  birds  of  boding 
cry. 

He  gives  to  range  the  dreary  sky ; 

Till  down  the  eastern  cliffs  afar 

Hyperion's  march  they  spy,  and  glitt'- 
ring  shafts  of  war. 

II.    2. 

In  climes  beyond  the  solar  road. 
Where     shaggy    forms     o'er     ice-built 
mountains  roam, 
37 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

The  Muse  has  broke  the  twilight  gloom 
To  cheer  the  shivering  native's  dull 
abode. 
And  oft,  beneath  the  od'rous  shade 
Of  Chili's  boundless  forests  laid, 
She    deigns   to    hear   the    savage   youth 

repeat. 
In  loose  numbers  wildly  sweet, 
Their     feather-cinctured     chiefs,     and 

dusky  loves. 
Her  track,  where'er  the  goddess  roves. 
Glory  pursue,  and  gen'rous  Shame, 
Th'    unconquerable    Mind,    and    free- 
dom's holy  flame. 

II.   3. 

Woods,  that  wave  o'er  Delphi's  steep. 
Isles,  that  crown  th'  ^gean  deep. 
Fields,  that  cool  Ilissus  laves. 
Or  where  Maeander's  amber  waves 
38 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

In  lingering  lab'rinths  creep, 

How   do   your  tuneful   echoes   lan- 
guish. 
Mute,  but  to  the  voice  of  anguish  ! 
Where  each  old  poetic  mountain 

Inspiration  breathed  around ; 
Ev'ry  shade  and  hallow'd  fountain 

Murmur'd  deep  a  solemn  sound  : 
Till    the   sad    Nine,   in    Greece's    evil 
hour. 
Left  their  Parnassus  for  the  Latian 
plains. 
Alike   they   scorn   the   pomp  of  tyrant 
Power, 
And  coward  Vice,  that  revels  in  her 
chains. 
When    Latium     had     her    lofty    spirit 

lost, 
They  sought,  O  Albion  !  next  thy  sea- 
encircled  coast. 
39 


^  Klegy  and  Other  Poems 


III.  I. 

Far  from  the  sun  and  summer-gale, 
In  thy  green  lap  was  Nature's  darling 

laid, 
What  time,  where  lucid  Avon  stray'd. 

To  him  the  mighty  mother  did  un- 

Her  awful  face  :  the  dauntless  child 
Stretch'd     forth     his     little    arms    and 

smiled. 
"  This   pencil   take   (she   said),    whose 

colours  clear 
Richly  paint  the  vernal  year  : 
Thine  too  these  golden  keys,  immortal 

Boy! 
This  can  unlock  the  gates  of  joy; 
Of  horror  that,  and  thrilling  fears. 
Or  ope  the   sacred   source  of  sympa 

thetic  tears." 

40 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems 


III.    2. 

Nor  second  He,  that  rode  sublime 
Upon  the  seraph-wings  of  Ecstasy, 
The  secrets  of  th'  abyss  to  spy. 

He    pass'd    the    flaming    bounds    of 
place  and  time : 
The      living      throne,      the      sapphire 

blaze. 
Where     angels     tremble     while     they 

gaze. 
He   saw ;   but,   blasted   with   excess   of 

light. 
Closed  his  eyes  in  endless  night. 
Behold,  where  Dryden's  less  presump- 
tuous car 
Wide  o'er  the  fields  of  glory  bear 
Two  coursers  of  ethereal  race, 
With   necks    in    thunder    clothed,   and 
long-resounding  pace. 
41 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

III.  3. 

Hark,  his  hands  the  lyre  explore  ! 
Bright-eyed  Fancy,  hov'ring  o'er. 
Scatters  from  her  pictured  urn 
Thoughts  that  breathe,  and  words  that 

burn. 
But  ah  !  'tis  heard  no  more  — 
O  lyre  divine  !  what  daring  spirit 
Wakes    thee     now  ?       Though     he 
inherit 
Nor  the  pride,  nor  ample  pinion, 

That  the  Theban  eagle  bear, 
Sailing  with  supreme  dominion 

Through  the  azure  deep  of  air : 
Yet   oft  before  his   infant   eyes   would 
run 
Such  forms  as  glitter  in  the  Muse's 
ray, 

42 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

With   orient   hues,   unborrow'd   of  the 

sun  : 
Yet  shall    he   mount,   and   keep    his 

distant  way 
Beyond  the  limits  of  a  vulgar  fate. 
Beneath  the  Good  how   far,  —  but  far 

above  the  Great. 


43 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 
THE  BARD 

A    PINDARIC    ODE 
I.     I. 

"  Ruin  seize  thee,  ruthless  King  ! 
Confusion  on  thy  banners  wait ; 
Though  fann'd  by  Conquest's  crimson 
wing, 
They  mock  the  air  with  idle  state. 
Helm,  nor  hauberk's  twisted  mail. 
Nor  e'en  thy  virtues,  Tyrant,  shall  avail 
To  save  thy  secret  soul  from  nightly 

fears, 
From   Cambria's  curse,  from  Cam- 
bria's tears  !  " 
Such   were   the    sounds    that   o'er    the 
crested  pride 
Of  the   first   Edward  scattered  wild 
dismay, 

44 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

As  down  the  steep  of  Snowdon's  shaggy 
side 
He  wound  with  toilsome  march  his 
long  array. 

Stout   Glo'ster  stood  aghast  in  speech- 
less trance  : 

"  To    arms  ! "    cried     Mortimer,    and 
couch'd  his  quiv'ring  lance. 

I.    2. 

On  a  rock  whose  haughty  brow, 
Frowns    o'er   cold    Conway's    foaming 
flood, 
Robed  in  the  sable  garb  of  woe, 
With  haggard  eyes  the  poet  stood  j 
(Loose  his  beard,  and  hoary  hair 
Stream'd,  like  a  meteor,  to  the  troubled 

air) 
And  with  a  master's  hand,  and  proph- 
et's fire, 

•  45 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Struck  the  deep  sorrows  of  his  lyre. 

"  Hark,  how  each  giant-oak,  and  des- 
ert cave. 
Sighs   to   the   torrent's   awful    voice 
beneath  ! 

O'er    thee,    O    King !    their    hundred 
arms  they  wave, 
Revenge   on   thee   in   hoarser    mur- 
murs breathe  ; 

Vocal   no  more,  since   Cambria's   fatal 
day, 

To    high-born    Hoel's    harp,    or    soft 
Llewellyn's  lay. 

"  Cold  is  Cadwallo's  tongue, 

That  hush'd  the  stormy  main  : 
Brave  Urien  sleeps  upon  his  craggy  bed  : 
Mountains,  ye  mourn  in  vain 
Modred,  whose  magic  song 
46 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

Made  huge  Plinlimmon  bow  his  cloud- 
topt  head. 
On  dreary  Arvon's  shore  they  lie, 
Smear'd  with  gore,  and  ghastly  pale  : 
Far,    far    aloof    th'    affrighted    ravens 
sail; 
The    famish'd    eagle    screams,    and 
passes  by. 
Dear  lost  companions  of  my   tuneful 
art. 
Dear  as  the  light  that  visits  these 
sad  eyes, 
Dear   as   the   ruddy   drops   that   warm 
my  heart. 
Ye  died  amidst  your  dying  country's 
cries  — 
No  more  I  weep.     They  do  not  sleep. 

On  yonder  cliffs,  a  grisly  band, 
I  see  them  sit,  they  linger  yet, 
Avengers  of  their  native  land  : 
47 


■^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

With  me  in  dreadful  harmony  they 
join, 

And  weave  with  bloody  hands  the  tis- 
sue of  thy  line. 

II.  I. 

"  Weave   the    warp,    and    weave    the 

woof, 
The  winding-sheet  of  Edward's  race. 

Give  ample  room,  and  verge  enough 
The  characters  of  hell  to  trace. 
Mark      the      year,      and     mark     the 

night, 
When   Severn   shall   re-echo    with  af- 
fright 
The  shrieks  of  death,  through   Berk- 
ley's roof  that  ring. 
Shrieks  of  an  agonising  king  ! 

She-wolf  of  France,  with  unrelent- 
ing fangs, 


Elegy  and  Other   Poems  ^ 

That  tear'st  the  bowels  of  thy  mangled 

mate, 
From  thee   be   born,  who   o'er   thy 

country  hangs 
The  scourge  of  heav'n.     What  terrors 

round  him  wait ! 
Amazement    in    his    van,    with     flight 

combined, 
And  sorrow's  faded  form,  and   solitude 

behind. 

II.  2. 

"  Mighty  victor,  mighty  lord  ! 
Low  on  his  funeral  couch  he  lies  ! 
No  pitying  heart,  no  eye,  afford 
A  tear  to  grace  his  obsequies. 

Is  the  sable  warrior  fled  ? 
Thy  son  is  gone.      He  rests  among  the 

dead. 
The  swarm,  that  in  thy  noontide  beam 
were  born  ? 

49 


-^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Gone  to  salute  the  rising  morn. 

Fair  laughs   the    morn,    and    soft    the 

zephyr  blows, 
While  proudly  riding  o'er  the  azure 

realm 
In  gallant  trim  the  gilded   vessel  goes  ; 
Youth  on  the  prow,  and  Pleasure  at 

the  helm ; 
Regardless  of  the  sweeping  whirlwind's 

sway, 
That,  hush'd  in  grim  repose,  expects 

his  ev'ning  prey. 


II.  3. 

"  Fill  high  the  sparkling  bowl, 
The  rich  repast  prepare ; 

Reft  of  a  crown,  he  yet  may  share 
the  feast  : 
Close  by  the  regal  chair 
50 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ?# 

Fell  Thirst  and  Famine  scowl 
A   baleful    smile    upon    their   baffled 
guest. 
Heard  ye  the  din  of  battle  bray, 

Lance  to  lance,  and  horse  to  horse  ? 
Long    years    of    havoc    urged    their 
destined  course. 
And  thro'  the  kindred  .squadrons  mow 
their  way. 
Ye  towers  of  Julius,  London's  last- 
ing shame, 
With  many  a  foul   and  midnight   mur- 
der fed. 
Revere      his     consort's     faith,     his 
father's  fame. 
And    spare    the    meek    usurper's    holy 

head. 
Above,  below,  the  rose  of  snow. 

Twined  with  her  blushing  foe,  we 
spread  : 

51 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

The  bristled  boar  in  infant-gore 

Wallows  beneath  the  thorny  shade. 

Now,   brothers,   bending  o'er   the  ac- 
cursed loom. 

Stamp    we    our    vengeance    deep,   and 
ratify  his  doom. 

III.   I. 

"  Edward,  lo  !  to  sudden  fate 
(Weave  we  the  woof.     The  thread  is 
spun.) 
Half  of  thy  heart  we  consecrate. 
(The    web    is    wove.       The    work    is 

done.) 
Stay,  O  stay  !  nor  thus  forlorn 
Leave  me  unbless'd,  unpitied,  here  to 

mourn  : 
In    yon    bright    track,    that    fires    the 

western  skies. 
They  melt,  they  vanish  from  my  eyes. 
52 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

But  oh  !  what  solemn  scenes  on  Snow- 
don's  height 
Descending     slow     their     glittering 
skirts  unroll  ? 

Visions    of    glory,    spare    my    aching 
sight ! 
Ye  unborn  ages,  crowd  not  on   my 
soul ! 

No  more  our  long-lost  Arthur  we  be- 
wail. 

All  hail,  ye  genuine  kings,  Britannia's 
issue,  hail  ! 

III.  2. 

"  Girt  with  many  a  baron  bold 
Sublime  their  starry  fronts  they  rear  ; 
And  gorgeous  dames,  and  statesmen 
old 
In  bearded  majesty,  appear. 
In  the  midst  a  form  divine  ! 
53 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Her  eye  proclaims  her  of  the   Briton- 
line  ; 
Her  lion-port,  her  awe-commanding  face, 
Attemper'd  sweet  to  virgin-grace. 
What  strings  symphonious  tremble  in 

the  air, 
What     strains    of    vocal     transport 

round  her  play  ! 
Hear  from  the  grave,  great  Taliessin, 

hear; 
They  breathe  a  soul  to  animate  thy 

clay. 
Bright    Rapture    calls,   and    soaring    as 

she  sings, 
Waves  in  the  eye  of  heav*n  her  many- 

colour'd  wings. 

III.  3. 

"  The  verse  adorn  again 
Fierce  war,  and  faithful  love, 
54 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

And  truth  severe,  by  fairy  fiction  drest. 

In  buskin'd  measures  move 
Pale  grief,  and  pleasing  pain, 
With   horror,  tyrant  of  the   throbbing 
breast. 
A  voice,  as  of  the  cherub-choir. 
Gales  from  blooming  Eden  bear; 
And    distant    warblings    lessen    on    my 
ear. 
That  lost  in  long  futurity  expire. 
Fond  impious  man,  think'st  thou  yon 
sanguine  cloud. 
Raised  by  thy  breath,  has  quench'd 
the  orb  of  day  ? 
To-morrow     he     repairs     the     golden 
flood, 
And    warms    the    nations    with    re- 
doubled ray. 
Enough  for  me ;   with  joy  I  see 

The  difF'rent  doom  our  fates  assign. 
55 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Be  thine  despair,  and  sceptred  care ; 

To  triumph,  and  to  die,  are  mine." 
He    spoke,    and    headlong    from     the 

mountain's  height 
Deep  in  the  roaring  tide  he  plunged  to 
endless  night. 


56 


Elegy  and  Other   Poems  ^ 


:ff? 


SONNET 

ON    THE    DEATH    OF    MR.    RICHARD 

WEST 

In   vain   to  me   the   smihng   mornings 
shine, 
And    redd'ning     Phoebus    lifts     his 
golden  fire ; 
The  birds  in  vain  their  amorous  descant 
join, 
Or  cheerful  fields  resume  their  green 
attire  : 
These  ears,  alas  !  for  other  notes  repine, 
A    different    object    do     these    eyes 
require : 
My  lonely  anguish  melts  no  heart  but 
mine; 
And  in  my  breast  the  imperfect  joys 
expire. 

57 


-^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Yet   morning  smiles  the  busy  race  to 
cheer, 
And    new-born    pleasure    brings    to 
happier  men  : 
The  fields  to  all  their  wonted  tribute 
bearj 
To  warm  their  little  loves  the  birds 
complain  : 
I 'fruitless   mourn   to  him  that  cannot 
hear, 
And  weep  the  more,  because  I  weep 
in  vain. 


58 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 
EPITAPH 

ON    MRS.    JANE    CLERKE 

Lo  !  where  this  silent  marble  weeps, 
A  friend,  a  wife,  a  mother  sleeps  : 
A  heart,  within  whose  sacred  cell 
The  peaceful  virtues  loved  to  dwell. 
Affection  warm,  and  faith  sincere. 
And  soft  humanity  were  there. 
In  agony,  in  death  resign'd, 
She  felt  the  wound  she  left  behind. 
Her  infant  image,  here  below, 
Sits  smiling  on  a  father's  woe  : 
Whom  what  awaits,  while  yet  he  strays 
Along  the  lonely  vale  of  days  ? 
A  pang,  to  secret  sorrow  dear ; 
A  sigh ;  an  unavailing  tear  ; 
Till  Time  shall  every  grief  remove. 
With  life,  with  memory,  and  with  love. 
59 


-^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 


ODE 

ON    THE    PLEASURE    ARISING    FROM 
VICISSITUDE 

Now  the  golden  morn  aloft 

Waves  her  dew-bespangled  wing, 
With  vermeil  cheek  and  whisper  soft 

She  woos  the  tardy  spring  : 
Till  April  starts,  and  calls  around 
The  sleeping  fragance  from  the  ground ; 
And  lightly  o'er  the  living  scene 
Scatters  his  freshest,  tenderest  green. 

New-born  flocks,  in  rustic  dance, 
Frisking  ply  their  feeble  feet ; 

Forgetful  of  their  wintry  trance, 
The  birds  his  presence  greet : 

But  chief,  the  skylark  warbles  high 

His  trembling  thrilling  ecstasy ; 
60 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

And,  lessening  from  the  dazzled  sight, 
Melts  into  air  and  liquid  light. 

Rise,  my  soul  I  on  wings  of  fire. 

Rise  the  rapt'rous  choir  among  i 
Hark  !  'tis  nature  strikes  the  lyre, 

And  leads  the  gen'ral  song : 
Warm  let  the  lyric  transport  flow. 
Warm  as  the  ray  that  bids  it  glow ; 
And  animates  the  vernal  grove 
With  health,  with  harmony,  and  love. 

Yesterday  the  sullen  year 

Saw  the  snowy  whirlwind  fly ; 
Mute  was  the  music  of  the  air. 
The  herd  stood  drooping  by : 
Their  raptures  now  that  wildly  flow, 
No  yesterday  nor  morrow  know ; 
'Tis  man  alone  that  joy  descries 
With  forward  and  reverted  eyes. 
6i 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Smiles  on  past  misfortune's  brow- 
Soft  reflection's  hand  can  trace ; 
And  o'er  the  cheek  of  sorrow  throw 

A  melancholy  grace; 
While  hope  prolongs  our  happier  hour, 
Or  deepest  shades,  that  dimly  lower 
And  blacken  round  our  weary  way, 
Gilds  with  a  gleam  of  distant  day. 

Still,  where  rosy  pleasure  leads. 

See  a  kindred  grief  pursue  ; 
Behind  the  steps  that  misery  treads, 

Approaching  comfort  view  : 
The  hues  of  bliss  more  brightly  glow, 
Chastised  by  sabler  tints  of  woe ; 
And  blended  form,  with  artful  strife, 
The  strength  and  harmony  of  life. 

See  the  wretch,  that  long  has  tost 
On  the  thorny  bed  of  pain, 
62 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

At  length  repair  his  vigour  lost, 
And  breathe  and  walk  again  : 
The  meanest  floweret  of  the  vale, 
The  simplest  note  that  swells  the  gale, 
The  common  sun,  the  air,  the  skies, 
To  him  are  opening  paradise. 

Humble  quiet  builds  her  cell. 

Near    the    source    whence    pleasure 

flows ; 
She  eyes  the  clear  crystalline  well. 

And  tastes  it  as  it  goes. 
"While"    far    below    the    "madding" 

crowd 
"  Rush  headlong  to  the  dangerous  flood," 
Where  broad  and  turbulent  it  sweeps, 
"  And  "  perish  in  the  boundless  deeps. 

Mark  where  indolence  and  pride, 
"  Soothed  by  flattery's  tinkling  sound," 
63 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

Go,  softly  rolling,  side  by  side, 
Their  dull  but  daily  round  : 
"  To  these,  if  Hebe's  self  should  bring 
The  purest  cup  from  pleasure's  spring. 
Say,  can  they  taste  the  flavour  high 
Of  sober,  simple,  genuine  joy  ? 

"  Mark  ambition's  march  sublime 
Up  to  power's  meridian  height ; 
While  paled-eyed  envy  sees  him  climb. 

And  sickens  at  the  sight. 
Phantoms  of  danger,  death,  and  dread 
Float  hourly  round  ambition's  head ; 
While  spleen,  within  his  rival's  breast. 
Sits  brooding  on  her  scorpion  nest. 

"  Happier  he,  the  peasant,  far. 

From  the  pangs  of  passion  free. 
That  breathes  the  keen  yet  wholesome 
air 
Of  rugged  penury. 
64 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 


He,  when  his  morning  task  is  done, 
Can  slumber  in  the  noontide  sun ; 
And  hie  him  home,  at  evening's  close, 
To  sweet  repast,  and  calm  repose. 

"  He,  unconscious  whence  the  bliss, 

Feels,  and  owns  in  carols  rude. 
That  all  the  circling  joys  are  his. 

Of  dear  Vicissitude. 
From  toil  he  wins  his  spirits  light. 
From  busy  day  the  peaceful  night ; 
Rich,  from  the  very  want  of  wealth, 
In  heaven's  best  treasures,  peace  and 
health." 


65 


-^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 


STANZAS   TO   MR.    BENTLEY 

A     FRAGMENT 

In  silent  gaze  the  tuneful  choir  among, 

Half  pleased,  half  blushing,  let  the 

Muse  admire, 

While  Bentley  leads  her  sister-art  along. 

And   bids  the  pencil  answer  to  the 

lyre. 

See,    in    their   course,   each    transitory 
thought 
Fix'd  by  his  touch  a  lasting  essence 
take  ; 
Each  dream,  in  fancy's  airy  colouring 
wrought. 
To  local  symmetry  and  life  awake ! 
66 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ^ 

The   tardy  rhymes  that  used  to  linger 
on, 
To  censure  cold,  and   negligent  of 
fame, 
In  swifter  measures  animated  run. 
And  catch  a  lustre  from  his  genuine 
flame. 


Ah  !  could  they  catch  his  strength,  his 

easy  grace. 

His  quick  creation,  his  unerring  line  ; 

The  energy  of  Pope  they  might  efface. 

And    Dryden's   harmony   submit   to 

mine. 

But  not  to  one  in  this  benighted  age 

Is  that  diviner  inspiration  giv'n. 
That  burns  in  Shakespeare's  or  in  Mil- 
ton's page. 
The  pomp  and  prodigality  of  heav'n. 
67 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 

As  when  conspiring  in  the  diamond's 
blaze, 
The  meaner  gems  that  singly  charm 
the  sight, 
Together  dart  their  intermingled  rays. 
And  dazzle  with  a  luxury  of  light. 

Enough    for    me,    if   to    some    feeling 
breast 
My   lines   a   secret   sympathy   "  im- 
part; " 
And  as  their  pleasing  influence  "  flows 
confest," 
A  sigh  of  soft  reflection  "  heaves  the 
heart." 


68 


Elegy  and  Other  Poems  ?# 


SKETCH   OF   HIS  OWN  CHAR- 
ACTER 

WRITTEN    IN     1 761,    AND    FOUND    IN 
ONE    OF    HIS    POCKET  -  BOOKS 

Too  poor  for  a  bribe,  and  too  proud  to 

importune, 
He  had  not  the  method  of  making  a 

fortune  : 
Could    love,   and   could   hate,   so    was 

thought  somewhat  odd ; 
No  very  great   wit,   he   believed    in   a 

God: 
A  post  or  a  pension  he  did  not  desire, 
But  left  church   and   state  to   Charles 

Townshend  and  Squire. 


69 


^  Elegy  and  Other  Poems 


SONG 

Thyrsis,  when  we  parted,  swore 
Ere  the  spring  he  would  return  — 

Ah  !  what  means  yon  violet  flower, 
And  the  bud  that  decks  the  thorn  ? 

'Twas  the  lark  that  upward  sprung  ! 

*Twas  the  nightingale  that  sung ! 

Idle  notes  J  untimely  green  ! 

Why  this  unavailing  haste  ? 
Western  gales  and  skies  serene 

Speak  not  always  winter  past. 
Cease,  my  doubts,  my  fears  to  move, 
Spare  the  honour  of  my  love. 

THE    END 


70 


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DEC  11  1997 

DATE  DUE 


,iJC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


B     000  017  979     6 


